more on this theme     |     more from this text

Single Idea 17411

[filed under theme 27. Natural Reality / B. Modern Physics / 4. Standard Model / a. Concept of matter ]

Full Idea

The work of Moseley and others rehabilitated Prout's hypothesis that all elements were composites of hydrogen, being exact multiples of 1. ..This revitalized some philososophical notions of the unity of all matter, criticised by Mendeleev and others.

Gist of Idea

If all elements are multiples of one (of hydrogen), that suggests once again that matter is unified

Source

Eric R. Scerri (The Periodic Table [2007], 06 'Philos')

Book Ref

Scerri,Eric R.: 'The Periodic Table' [OUP 2007], p.175

Related Ideas

Idea 17402 Mendeleev saw three principles in nature: matter, force and spirit (where the latter seems to be essence) [Mendeleev, by Scerri]

Idea 17406 Moseley, using X-rays, showed that atomic number ordered better than atomic weight [Scerri]

The 28 ideas from Eric R. Scerri

17392 How can poisonous elements survive in the nutritious compound they compose? [Scerri]
17393 Scientists eventually seek underlying explanations for every pattern [Scerri]
17394 Natural kinds are what are differentiated by nature, and not just by us [Scerri]
17391 Periodicity and bonding are the two big ideas in chemistry [Scerri]
17395 Elements were ordered by equivalent weight; later by atomic weight; finally by atomic number [Scerri]
17396 The colour of gold is best explained by relativistic effects due to fast-moving inner-shell electrons [Scerri]
17397 The periodic system is the big counterexample to Kuhn's theory of revolutionary science [Scerri]
17398 19th C views said elements survived abstractly in compounds, but also as 'material ingredients' [Scerri]
17403 The periodic table suggests accommodation to facts rates above prediction [Scerri]
17404 Chemistry does not work from general principles, but by careful induction from large amounts of data [Scerri]
17405 If a theory can be fudged, so can observations [Scerri]
17410 Moseley showed the elements progress in units, and thereby clearly identified the gaps [Scerri]
17407 The electron is the main source of chemical properties [Scerri]
17406 Moseley, using X-rays, showed that atomic number ordered better than atomic weight [Scerri]
17408 Some suggested basing the new periodic table on isotopes, not elements [Scerri]
17411 If all elements are multiples of one (of hydrogen), that suggests once again that matter is unified [Scerri]
17409 Does radioactivity show that only physics can explain chemistry? [Scerri]
17412 Elements are placed in the table by the number of positive charges - the atomic number [Scerri]
17414 Pauli explained the electron shells, but not the lengths of the periods in the table [Scerri]
17413 Elements in the table are grouped by having the same number of outer-shell electrons [Scerri]
17416 Orthodoxy says the periodic table is explained by quantum mechanics [Scerri]
17415 A big chemistry idea is that covalent bonds are shared electrons, not transfer of electrons [Scerri]
17417 To explain the table, quantum mechanics still needs to explain order of shell filling [Scerri]
17419 Since 99.96% of the universe is hydrogen and helium, the periodic table hardly matters [Scerri]
17422 The best classification needs the deepest and most general principles of the atoms [Scerri]
17421 If elements are natural kinds, might the groups of the periodic table also be natural kinds? [Scerri]
17418 It is now thought that all the elements have literally evolved from hydrogen [Scerri]
17420 The stability of nuclei can be estimated through their binding energy [Scerri]